Her Plastic Ring, A Guilt Token
by Delcesca Newby
Summary: Alec made the ultimate sacrifice, unintentionally, and is still riddled with guilt 4 years later as he tries to survive the apocalypse. When given a chance at redemption what will he do? Can he do for a stranger what he couldn't for Jane? All human. AU. Rated T for mild language. I do not own Twilight.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a new story I've had on my mind for awhile. I plan on it being a quick, but good read. I hope you all enjoy, and please send a little love my way. It always makes me smile when I get reviews. **

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"Alec, get your ass up," a voice hissed, cutting through the screaming ringing in my ears. The all-too-familiar nightmare that plagued me every time I slept dissolved instantly and my eyes popped open. My hand slid under my pillow to grab my gun as I was greeted with the sight of a boot hovering over my chest.

"What do you want?" I asked, shoving the foot away and sitting up; placing my gun in the holster around my chest.

"Move," Rosalie demanded, her scarred face holding its usual expression of bitchy annoyance.

If it had been four years earlier, I would have told her to stuff it and get the hell away from me, but I didn't have that luxury anymore. No human did. We had to take what we could get, even if all we were offered was someone with a bad attitude and entitlement issues. At least she was a crack shot and knew how to set traps for game.

I yawned and ran fingers through my disheveled, choppily cut hair. Esme had tried her best, but she was far from being a hair stylist—not that it mattered much to me. The uglier I looked, maybe the safer I would be.

"Aren't you supposed to be on patrol?" I asked, unable to hide my irritation.

"I've been up for hours and feel like I'm about to pass out. I want to sleep," Rosalie said.

"It hasn't been eight hours yet," I said, knowing I'd been stupid to agree to take the patrol shift after her.

Rosalie shrugged. "Close enough."

"I hate you," I muttered as I rose to my feet. I stretched until my back popped and then I slipped on my hole-riddled jacket.

"Oh, poor baby," Rosalie teased, hopping into the spot I'd left. She snuggled with the pillow and clamped her eyes shut.

"Did you wake Edward up?"

"He's been up," Rosalie informed me. "Bella went into labor sometime in the middle of the night, and he's been by her side like a good husband should be."

_No help there_, I thought, and frowned. _Yay for_ _another day of working by myself_.

I sighed. At least Edward had a legitimate reason. I couldn't ask the guy to miss the birth of his child. I wasn't a dick like _some_ people.

"How's it out there?" I asked.

"Nothing has changed in the shithole we've come to know and love," Rosalie said and then made loud snoring noises. I glared at her, wondering if I could somehow rid her of her horrible nature with a single look. I'd been trying for the past two years with no luck. Maybe it took something stronger, like fire.

Gazing at her, I had to guess that someone had already tried that by the state of her face. At one point in time she'd probably been a gorgeous girl. She had the body of a goddess and the clearest blue eyes I'd ever seen that complimented her high cheekbones. Despite the lack of hygiene we all suffered from, her golden blond hair was long and thick and had never been touched by Esme's clumsy, well-meaning hand.

But that was all overshadowed by the twisted map of damaged, bumpy skin that started at her neck and stopped just above her eyebrows. It was a strange black-red color. She was a sad sight that made her demeanor that much harder to deal with.

I left the living room of the house my group and I'd claimed as our own a week and a half ago. My shoes left imprints in the mountain of dirt that remained even after Esme's attempts at cleaning the carpet. Dust swirled up into my nose and mouth, causing me to sneeze and gag simultaneously. I hurried into the kitchen, trying to breathe.

"Here," Alice said as soon as I entered, holding out an opened bottle of water.

I took it and sipped, getting myself under control. "Thank you," I muttered when I could finally talk.

Alice waved a wrapper in my face. "Want the other half of my breakfast bar?"

I shook my head and downed more water.

"She's really loud," Alice said, nibbling on the food I had declined. She ate like a starving, nervous bird, complete with the shifting gaze and hunched back.

"Who?" I asked.

"Bella," Alice said, her troubled sapphire blue eyes rising to the ceiling.  
"Well, she is trying to give life to what Esme has assured everyone is a healthy baby. I'm assuming that's quite a feat."

"If it takes much longer, Bella won't make it to see the sunset," Alice said with such conviction I had to wonder—and not for the first time—if she could somehow see into the future. It freaked me out the things she blurted, especially when her eyes glazed over and she shook as she uttered her words. Thankfully, she wasn't doing that now. I never handled her 'episodes' well.

Suddenly the loudest scream of pain I'd ever heard shook the walls of the house. A cheer followed that, and the tense look Alice wore fell off her pinched, pixie-like face. I could almost see a weight physically lift from her shoulders.

"Do you think Bella will let me hold the little girl?" Alice asked.

"It's a girl?" Esme hadn't mentioned that, though maybe she hadn't thought I'd care about the gender of Bella's baby.

"Yes, it's a girl," Alice said.

"Good for Bella," I muttered.

"Will I be able to hold her?" Alice repeated, almost angrily.

"Maybe," I shrugged; knowing full well that Bella would never let Alice around her baby. There was something seriously wrong with Alice. I didn't know her life story, had never asked. It wasn't my place to make her relive whatever horrible things were in her past, the horrible things that made it so she only slept for a couple hours every few days. But those things had made the girl (she couldn't be older than 15) unstable, and if I were Bella I would be afraid of Alice dropping the baby or leaving it somewhere and forgetting the location.

"Baby girls are so sweet…so special," Alice whispered softly, her eyes glazing over. A smile turned up her chapped, blood-caked lips (she was always biting them) and a sigh left her. I gazed, surprised to see her so happy. I couldn't help but wonder what she was remembering.

"Yeah," I agreed, and then coughed. "Well, I'm going to go on patrol. You…find something…you know."

"You're never careful out there," Alice accused, her expression crumbling back into the one I'd come accustomed to seeing on her face for the past year. "You don't do things to jeopardize us, but you aren't careful."

"I'm careful enough," I said.

Alice closed the short distance between us and reached out. I momentarily thought she was going to hit me (though she was incapable of swatting a fly), but instead she grabbed the chain around my neck and tugged the tiny pink plastic ring I always wore out from underneath my shirt. She fingered the ring, tears welling up in her eyes.

"You won't solve anything by being reckless," she whispered.

My heart thudded painfully in my chest as I roughly tore the ring out of her grasp and returned it to its spot between my bare chest and shirt. "I'm not trying to solve anything," I almost hissed.

"Alec, antagonizing them won't—"

"I'm leaving," I announced over top of her; not-so-gently moving her out of my way. "Tell the others when they finally come down or whatever that I'm going to bring home food. I don't know what it will be, but we're running low."

I started for the back door.

"Wait, Alec. I'm coming with," Alice called.

I stopped mid-step and whipped around to face her. "Excuse me? No, you're not."

"I have to come with you today," Alice insisted.

"Why?"

Alice shrugged, looking confused. "I just have to," she said a moment later. "You need me with you."

"You can't even shoot a gun!"

"Please, Alec. Trust me, you need me,"

I opened my mouth to disagree, but something kept me from saying anything. What if this was one of those times she was right? What would I do if, by some miracle, there came a time when I was out that Alice would come in handy? Did I really want to risk whatever bad things could happen if she wasn't around?

And, besides, even if nothing out of the ordinary happened she could help carry whatever supplies I found.

"I'm in charge," I said, relenting. "Whatever I say goes, and you _will_ stay beside me at all times. Do you understand?"

Alice vigorously nodded.

_I'm going to regret this_, I thought.

"Come on," I said, opening the back door and gesturing outside.

Alice scrambled past me. "You won't regret it," she told me.

I stared at her a minute. This probably was a very bad idea. I should make her stay. It would be better—

"Are we going, Alec?" Alice asked.

I sighed as I repositioned my gun. "Yeah," I muttered, and followed after her.


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter! I hope you all enjoy. Please leave some love when you're done.**

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The early morning sky was just starting to a baby's blue as Alice and I cut through the back yard, crawled under the fence, and strolled into the adjoining lawn. I stepped lightly, alert as I searched for resting snakes. Alice walked like a drunken buffalo and had her head turned up to gaze at the thin clouds. Twice I had to steer her away from tree branches before she tripped over them.

"Pay attention," I finally growled as we reached the back street. "I'm not going to keep you out of all the potholes, and I sure the hell won't carry you back to the house if you sprain your ankle."

"Okay," Alice sighed, noticeably dejected as she forced herself to stay focused on what was in front of her.

A soft breeze ruffled our hair and I stopped a moment to sniff. Good. I smelt nothing odd; there were no traces of other people. That didn't mean they weren't here, though. The town we were in was relatively small, but there were many places for a group or two like mine to hide out in. Yes, Edward and I had searched every inch of the town and had found nothing, but that had been five days ago. Who knew how things had changed since our last sweep?

I shuddered at the thought of running into another group of people, of another scenario like Waterchall. With Alice and the new baby there was no way we would come out of a fight with other people the victors. We barely lived through the last confrontation when it was just five of us.

My head swiveled back and forth as I kept my eyes peeled for any signs of not only humans, but the demons that had made the earth what it was today. The number of them had greatly disappeared since they first crawled out of Hell that late November night, the day after Thanksgiving (who knew the end of the world would happen on Black Friday?). I don't know where all the demons had gone to, not that I was complaining.

I guess I could be anxious about the ones that remained, but in four years I'd discovered many ways to kill them. It wasn't as hard as it at first had seemed.

_Shame you didn't know that when_—

_Stop_, I silently cried, cutting off my internal voice. I didn't want to go there. Not today. Couldn't I go one day without thinking about that? Without thinking about _her_?

It was a beautiful late summer day. The morning was brisk and cool, but the temperature was steadily rising. The trees we passed were just starting to turn a rainbow of colors, the barest hint of fall. Jane would have loved to see the leaves, would have loved to dance around in this weather; her favorite time of the year.

_And she would be doing that right now if you hadn't messed up_, my internal voice snipped before I had a chance to quiet it again. _It's your fault she's in that unmarked grave. You failed her. You promised you would protect her and less than forty-eight hours after you made that vow she died._

_I tried_, I told it pathetically. My hand touched the bump where the plastic ring was…Jane's cheap, plastic ring; the cursed token that reminded me of my little sister.

_Uh-huh_, my inner voice responded.

I sighed. I couldn't lie to myself. Yes, I'd only been fourteen when the biggest mistake of my life had happened. And, yes, I had been as scared and confused as the rest of the human race, but I should have known better than to leave Jane by herself, even though I'd only been gone for a few minutes. Even though I had left to go find her stupid pink ring, something she just hadn't been able to go on without. I had seen what the demons were capable of when they'd slaughtered my father in front of me, and I shouldn't have been so naïve to think they wouldn't find us in the woods; that they would overlook a ten-year-old girl.

My eyes clouded over with tears as the last image I had of my sister flashed through my mind. She'd been in so much pain as she had screamed my name, and I'd just stood there watching them (two horrible monsters) torture her as she fought for her life. Oh, had she fought, kicking and scratching with everything she had.

Jane had been so brave until one of the demons had causally snapped her neck.

And then they're fun had abruptly ended and I'd had to hide until they scrambled off. With numb fingers and bleeding nails I'd dug Jane a shallow grave, kissed her cold forehead, and then had prayed for God to take her soul and cherish her as I'd gently lowered her still body into the grave and covered her.

"Alec," Alice whispered, touching my arms; bringing me back to the present. To the horribly lonely, guilt-filled present.

"What?" I asked wiping quickly at my face. I willed my emotions to go back into the locked box around my heart and met her worried stare as expressionless as possible.

"There is forgiveness in accepting your past," Alice answered, sounding wiser beyond her years.

"We're taking too much time," I said, pretending I hadn't heard her as I picked up my pace. I left the back street, turned onto the town's main one, and walked down the middle of the cracked, eroded road. Alice chased after me, wheezing slightly as she tried to catch up.

I took pity on her and slowed my steps.

"I upset you. I didn't mean to," Alice coughed. "I thought I was helping. You looked like you were in so much pain. I only wanted to make it stop."

"I'm fine," I stressed, spotting a small grocery store that we hadn't raided yet. "Over here," I said, pointing at it as I dodged a rusted car parked in front of the building. The owner probably had gone in to get eggs and milk and had instead got torn to shreds by a demon.

I stopped a few feet away from the building and pulled a small jar of vapor rub out of my pocket. I opened it and picked up a glob with my finger. I turned to Alice.

"What is that?" she asked, eyeing the slightly yellow goo.

"It's vapor rub. I'm going to put it under your nose," I said.

"Why?"

"There are things in the store that have been allowed to fester for four years. It's not going to smell pretty in there. The vapor rub will tone down the stench," I explained.

"Oh," Alice muttered, and allowed me to smear it above her lip.

I put some under my nostrils, capped the jar, and placed it back in my pocket. I started for the store's broken door. Even before I reached the threshold, a wave of rotting revulsion crashed into my nose and I gagged. Alice stepped up beside me, her breath caught, and the next moment she doubled over and lost her breakfast.

"I'm okay," she whispered shakily when she was done. She straightened up and wiped at her mouth with the sleeve of her shirt.

"It helps to mostly hold your breath and breathe through your mouth when you need to," I said, doing as I instructed as I entered the dark store.

It wasn't nearly as destroyed as most the other places I'd gone into for food, but it still looked pretty bad. Some shelves had been knocked over. Boxes of cereal and crackers had been opened, their contents spilled all over the floor; molded and dust covered. The two cash registers were opened and broken on the floor. Glass that I couldn't find the origins to was scattered all over like confetti.

I grabbed two small baskets, gave one to Alice, and then worked my way through the messy maze before me. I ignored the many rats and bugs scurrying around as I gingerly picked through the unopened packages down one of the aisles. I only found two sleeves of cookies and a box of fruit drinks that I placed in Alice's basket. I moved down the shelves, praying I would find more. My measly discoveries would hardly be worth it if that's all I brought back to the house.

"Can we…take…this?" Alice asked, holding up a can of corn.

I nodded and continued on with my search.

Over the next twenty minutes we came up with three more boxes of cookies, a few energy bars, a container of military-grade milk stuff, four cans of fruit cocktail, and a bag of chips. I sighed at our haul. It wasn't terrible, but someone was going to have to go out tomorrow for more.

We just couldn't keep doing this. Somehow, sooner than later, we were going to have to try to set up permanent residence somewhere. Maybe on a tiny farm; definitely have a garden. It wouldn't be that hard. Not with six capable hands.

"Let's try someplace el—"

"Do you hear that?" Alice suddenly cried over me, her head snapping around to look out the dirty storefront window.

"What?"

"She needs us!" Alice yelled, dropping her basket. It fell to the floor with a loud thud. Alice didn't pay it any mind as she raced for the exit.

"Who?" I asked, taking off after her; leaving my own basket of food behind.

"Your redemp—"

The rest of what she said was lost as she left the store and took off down the street.  
"Get back here," I demanded.

Her tiny form kept running away from me. I groaned. Whatever was going on was not going to end well. I instinctively removed my gun from its holster and reluctantly trailed her.


End file.
